Reader Tim’s Neighbor is someone I’ve corresponded with a bit, as he worked for the Braves until recently. No, he wasn’t executive vice president of baseball operations or anything, but when it comes to the issue of Jose Reyes and the curiously wet Turner Field infield, he has some special insight and expertise.

Here’s what Tim’s Neighbor had to say about it in the comments thread a few minutes ago. While it may work to defuse conspiracy theories — and who among us doesn’t love a good conspiracy theory — it probably describes the situation more accurately all the same:

I just left the Braves Ground crew. I was full time this season up until a few weeks ago. No way it was intentional. The crew are creatures of habit who don’t divert from what they are supposed to do every day. And they do a damn fine job. I actually texted my buddy on the crew still still and he confirmed that there was nothing sinister. He said it looked fine even when they dragged both times.

It was crazy hot here yesterday. You have to throw a little extra water down so the field doesn’t crack over the three hours of heat. Sometimes, you throw a little extra down. The Braves Field Director is a lot of things that I won’t go into, but the dude knows is stuff and is widely regarded as one of the best in the biz (he also does the Super Bowl every year).

I’m guessing that Reyes doesn’t know the least bit about field and turf management. He should stick to getting on base and being speedy.

The Oakland Athletics ballpark saga has dragged on for years and years and years. They’ve considered San Jose, Fremont and at least three locations in Oakland as potential new ballpark sites. The whole process has lasted almost as long as the Braves and Rangers played in their old parks before building new ones.

In the past several months the Athletics’ “stay in Oakland” plan has gained momentum. At one point the club thought it had an agreement to build a new place near Peralta/Laney College in downtown Oakland. There have been hiccups with that, so two other sites — Howard Terminal, favored by city officials — and the current Oakland Coliseum site have remained in play. There are pros and cons to each of these sites, as we have discussed in the past.

One consideration not mentioned before was mentioned by team president David Kaval yesterday: sea level rise due to climate change. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Kaval mentioned twice that the Howard Terminal site would have to take into account sea-level rise and transportation concerns — and he said there have been conversations with the city and county and the Joint Powers Authority about developing the Coliseum site.

The Howard Terminal/Jack London Square area of Oakland has been identified as susceptible to dramatically increased flooding as a result of projected sea level rise due to climate change. On the other side of the bay both the San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors have had to consider sea level rise in their stadium/arena development plans. Now it’s the Athletics’ turn.

Fifteen of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams play in coastal areas and another five of them play near the Great Lakes. While some of our politicians don’t seem terribly concerned about it all, people and organizations who will have skin the game 10, 20 and 50 years from now, like the Oakland Athletics, are taking it into account.